Old Friends
by Figure in black
Summary: The Gaang reunite for a group portrait - Based on the 'Old Friends' poster given out at SDCC Kataang, slight Sukka/Maiko


"Now...You may _say_ that you're capable of performing this task that you have been assigned...but do you have the experience? I mean, don' t get me wrong! 'Cause I know! I've been there! I've already done what you are about to do, and I can assure you, this will be no easy feat! Capturing the moment on paper not only takes a high-level of skill but also patien - "

"Sokka! Will you just leave that poor man alone and let him get on with his job!" His sister's voice quickly caused him to halt mid-sentence as his face resembled that of a scolded child. Leaning his weight lazily against the man's easel, Sokka grinned sheepishly as he stumbled back to his feet sending the man an awkward salute as he shuffled nervously to join Katara at the far-side of the room. The Painter continued to stare blankly back at him before returning to unpacking his paint and other materials.

"I thought I was the official artist for Team Avatar?!" He whispered loudly as Katara examined her reflection closely in an ice mirror she had previously fixed to the nearby wall not a couple of minutes previous. Rolling her eyes in amusement, Katara halted in her hair adjustments to turn and face her older brother. "Aw, of course you are!" She soothed as if trying to calm a crying toddler. "It's just that, your artistic skills are very...well, _radical!_ The world is just not ready yet for 'Sokka the Artist'."

She gently rubbed her brother's arm in comfort as he shyly grinned down at her. "Besides, Zuko's _The Mighty Firelord_! And with that responsibility there's an enormous palace, an unlimited supply of Fruit Tarts, hundreds of servants at his beck and call and a _Royal Portrait Painter_." She subtly signalled to the man currently sorting through his multiple paintbrushes.

"You really think my art is radical?" Sokka beamed as he folded his arms before him and stared proudly into the distance, deep in thought. Katara giggled. "Absolutely! No-one else can paint like you!"

"I like that!" He nodded. "I can see it now! 'Sokka, The Radical Artist!'" He fanned his arms wide in front of him for emphasis. "Well, that's one way of putting it!" Katara mumbled as she returned her attention to her mirror, wanting to make sure she looked perfect for the portrait.

The heavy wooden door to their left suddenly burst open revealing the Firelord himself dressed in his full Royal Regalia. Adjusting the sleeves of his outfit he made his way towards the two Water Tribe members without raising his gaze from his clothing. "Alright! Are we ready to go?" He asked as he came to a halt beside them. "Well...erm, no!" Sokka replied as he turned a full 360 degrees in emphasis.

"What?" Zuko finally looked up from his preening. "Aw, I told them to be here prompt! I've got meetings I need to be present for this evening and I need to prepare! The sooner we get this done the sooner we can leave!"

"Wow, hold up! How long is this portrait actually going to take?!" Sokka asked as the three of them simultaneously turned to gaze at the Painter. A few seconds of complete silence passed as they watched him slowly mix his paints. "Oh...I don't know..." He spoke in a slow drole. "About two...maybe three hours..."

"Three hours?!" Katara screeched. "I really don't know if I can stay still that long!" Her shoulder received a soft tap. "Well, when I last painted our first official team portrait I seem to recall letting you all do whatever the Hell you wanted!"

"And I seem to recall you making me look like a rabid boar-q-ine! Besides, as long as you find yourself a comfortable stance it's really not as bad as it sounds." Zuko retorted as he once again turned his attention to his outfit, tweaking his collar with both hands.

"I hope Aang's OK..." Katara whispered as, with a slight flick of the wrist, shifted her mirror from ice to water and guided it back into her water skin. "It's not like him to be late like this..."

"I really wouldn't worry," Zuko replied, dropping his hands to his waist, happy with his final touches. "Toph was using his head for target practice not too long ago. Hard to ignore a boulder flying at your face at super high velocity! She's probably just managed to coerce him into yet another Earth Rumble to cure her boredom and they've just lost track of time."

Before Katara could reply the tiny patter of small paws on wood could be heard followed by a rolling trill as Momo entered the room in a flash of white fur, immediately circling up the legs of the painter's easel and perching his girth at its summit, staring at the group with wide eyes. "Awww! There's our fuzzy little guy!" Sokka called as he took a few steps forward to tickle Momo's fuzzy little chin.

Momo purred at Sokka's ministrations, the back of his hand tickling his nose causing his little face to contort adorably before releasing a cute sneeze. His fur ruffled with the effort, releasing a large plume that surrounded his whole body in a little dust cloud. Shaking the dust from his eyes he quickly extended his arms and glided towards Katara, landing softly on her shoulders to begin grooming his dirty fur.

"Poor widdle Momo!" Katara whispered in her best baby talk as she softly scratched his ear. "What did they get you involved with this time, huh?"

"He bore witness to the most pathetic defeat in earthbending history!" The trio turned to witness Toph's entrance, dressed fully in her new metalbending uniform and a large smirk plastered across her face. "Twinkle Toes got owned!" Her uniform rattled with her steps as she made her way towards the group, shortly followed by the final member of the group.

"There was nothing to own! I was dodging! You were using me as target practice!" Aang argued as he strolled past the group to join Katara who was smiling warmly at him, Momo quickly jumping from her shoulders and onto the shoulders of his master. "Loser!" Toph coughed in a humorous fashion causing Sokka and Zuko to chuckle. "Oh, Aang! You're filthy!" Katara scolded as she began to try to brush and pat the dirt from his clothes. "I told you to try and stay reasonably clean for today!"

"I tried, Sweetie! Did you not just hear me mention the dodging?" Zuko shook his head slowly from side to side in amusement. "Oh, man! And I thought it was bad before you two got married!" Aang turned his head from Katara to glare unimpressed at Zuko. Feeling left out of the teasing, Sokka quickly draped an arm over Zuko's shoulder. "You're kidding, right? Married or not, the Avatar is well and truly _Water-Whipped_."

"What? No I'm not!" Aang argued, however the argument clearly fell on death ears as Toph followed with a subtle whip impersonation, crack sound and all. "Ignore them, Sweetie!" Katara whispered as she gently placed a hand on his bearded chin and turned his gaze back to her. She looked up at him lovingly, pulling him towards her and resting a hand gently on his chest as she giggled softly.

"What?" he smiled, enjoying the sound of her giggles. "You've still got a bit of dirt." She smiled as he edged his face a tiny bit closer to hers.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yep!"

"And where is that?"

"Right..." She raised her finger and tapped him softly on the tip of his nose, their faces edging slowly closer and closer into an impending kiss. "...there!" A loud sneeze from Toph ripped them roughly back into reality, her blindness leaving her unaware of the frowns that were being aimed in her direction from the newlyweds.

"My Lord?" The quiet voice of the Painter suddenly caught the attention of everyone in the room. "Are we ready to begin?" Zuko took a quick glance at the others before returning his attention to the painter. "Yes, that's everyone accounted for now."

"Woah! Hold up!" Toph shouted as she made a quick mental count. "Now according to my world-renowned earthbending abilities there are two people missing from this room. And according to these said senses, these two people are a little hard to miss...if you know what I mean!" And, just in case no-one _did _know what she meant, she decided to emphasise her point by inflating her cheeks wide and holding her hands far in front of her stomach, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Zuko looked on in horror as Sokka laughed wildly. "Toph!" Katara berated, slapping her lightly on the shoulder. "That's just awful!" She tried to scold her quick-witted friend whilst also trying not to smile wildly at her accurate impression. "I think it's amazing!" Sokka laughed, clutching his stomach. "For a blind woman you have them _pegged_!"

"That's our wives she's mocking!" Zuko yelped in Sokka's direction, who was currently wiping the tears from his eyes. "I don't know about Suki, but Mai's not here because, _surprisingly_, she's worried people will think she'll look like a beached Walrus yak!" Zuko argued as Sokka composed himself. "The only reason Suki's not here is 'cause she wasn't allowed to bring her own food!"

Aang grinned widely "Oh yeah? Then why are you here?" Sokka pulled a face at his brother-in-law over the heads of their friends. "Escape, my dear friend! Any man married to a 200 pound pregnant woman needs a reprieve every now and then! Whether it's standing around having your portrait painted, or an impromptu fishing trip! You take what you can get! Ain't that right, Your Highness?"

Zuko smiled at the floor, shaking his head in exasperation. "It's a good thing she's not here; otherwise she'd bury you right where you stand!"

"Why, what would she do, sit on him?!" Toph quipped, causing a round of laughter from the two future fathers. As the trio continued their jokes, Katara edged closer to Aang, standing on her tip-toes to whisper into his ear. "I swear, if you joke about me the way Sokka's joking about Suki in these next couple months, you'll find yourself hibernating in another iceberg!"

Aang sniggered quietly. "C'mon, Sweetie! You know I wouldn't _dream_ of doing something like that!" He bent down to bury his nose in her hair and inhaled her scent. "When do you think we should break the news? I'm so excited I don't know if I'll be able to keep it a secret much longer!" He muttered as Katara placed a hand softly on his chest to play with the material of his tunic.

"Don't you dare!" She tried her best to keep her voice as quiet as possible so only Aang could hear. "Besides...I love it that only you and I know, don't you? Our own little secret?" She asked him gently as he smiled down lovingly at her. "Yeah!" He beamed, speaking a little louder than he realised "Our amazing little secret!"

"What secret?" Toph accused, breaking Sokka and Zuko abruptly from their discussions. "Ergh..." Aang fidgeted, frankly trying to think of an excuse as he pulled nervously at his collar. A slight nudge from Katara's elbow into his ribs forced him to speak the first excuse that popped into his head. "Liv-Living underwater?!" He replied sharply as Katara visibly winced at his answer.

"If we are all ready to begin?" The meek voice of the Painter prevented further interrogation from Toph as the group quickly fell into their positions. "Phew! Saved by the old guy!" Aang joked quietly as Katara looked up at her husband. "Is that an excuse you use for _everything_?" She smiled as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Now, if I could ask everyone to please place yourselves into positions you all find comfortable. I say this as you will have to keep yourselves in these poses for a long period of time...and once I start painting you cannot move or change."

"Get myself comfortable...comfortable..." Sokka muttered as he looked down at his feet and back up, glancing at Zuko who was looking quite confident with his arms folded in-front of his chest. Smirking, Sokka feigned a yawn, stretching his arms wide over his head and slowly lowered them down, one arm placed confidently onto Zuko's left shoulder.

The Firelord grunted from the sudden pressure of Sokka's bodyweight weighing-down heavily onto his shoulder, the warrior grinned widely at his friend; he wiggled his eyebrows playfully as he placed his other hand coolly onto his waist. Zuko scowled. "What do you think you're doing?" Sokka grinned as he crossed one leg calmly behind the other. "Getting myself comfortable!"

Zuko pouted as he looked ahead towards the Painter and smiled calmly as he swiftly rolled his shoulder forward, causing Sokka to suddenly lose his balance and land in a sorry heap behind Toph. "Sokka!" Aang and Katara exclaimed in-sync as Toph practically cried in laughter. "Oh man! I might be blind, but I hope that was captured on paper!" Sokka quickly jumped back to his feet and stomped back to his original spot next to Zuko. "What the Hell?!" Sokka yelled as Zuko smiled calmly at his angry friend.

"My shoulder slipped." He replied calmly as Sokka's face began to turn a nice shade of red. "Look!" Zuko raised his hands in surrender. "I've got nothing wrong with you placing a brotherly hand on my shoulder in solidarity and-all...actually I would be honoured." Sokka smiled from ear-to-ear at Zuko's admission. "But, I'm against you using me as a weight-bearer!"

"Say no more!" Sokka replied as he patted Zuko on the shoulder, resting his hand softly on-top as Zuko crossed his arms once again. "So...if we have to position ourselves in a pose that we wouldn't want to move out of..." Aang spoke playfully as he wrapped his arm tightly around Katara's waist, bringing her as close to him as possible. Katara giggled, she shot him a smug look as she pulled her right arm from between them and placed it firmly onto his right butt-cheek, giving it a squeeze for good measure.

Aang squeaked in surprise as Toph nodded her head in approval, able to feel every vibration and reaction of Katara's new pose. "Nice, Sugar Queen! Very nice!" Sokka raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he leaned forwards and then backwards around Zuko and Toph to glance at his younger sister and brother-in-law, grimacing when he saw the root of Toph's reaction. "Aw, _Katara_!" He grimaced as Katara innocently shrugged her shoulders. "The man's just told us to get into a comfortable position!" Aang defended as he placed a gentle kiss onto his wife's temple.

Apart from the loud whisper of "_Oogies_!" from Sokka, the Gaang fell into total silence as the Painter began his work. "WAIT!" Toph yelled at the top of her lungs, causing everyone in the room to jump out of their skin. "I don't like my pose!"

"What?!" Zuko argued as he patted his chest in an attempt to calm his fast-beating heart. "I said _I don't like my pose_! It's not bad-ass enough!" Toph replied as she blew the strands of hair roughly from her face. "Well...seeing as I will now have to start again before I even truly began..." The Painter muttered as he took the canvas which was now streaked with a large, accidental brush stroke and removed it from his easel.

"Zuko said it himself earlier, this portrait will be looked at by future generations as the captured moment of _The Heroic Team Avatar_! When people look at me I don't want them to see some blind woman...I want them to see the greatest earthbender in the world, the inventor of metalbending and all-round butt-kicking and undefeatable defender of the new Republic City!"

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get bad-ass!" Sokka demanded as Toph wrinkled her face in thought before placing her hands on her waist with a wide grin on her face. However she quickly changed her mind and dropped her arms loosely to her sides. "No, that's just stupid!" She muttered as she then quickly raised both arms up, bending them to show off her biceps. "Grrr! That'll just look like I'm trying too hard!" She growled as she once again frowned in thought.

"Got it!" She grinned as she quickly whipped her left arm forwards, pointing in a dramatic fashion. Unfortunately, what she didn't realise was she was pointing too far right, and it took Zuko's hands on her shoulders to quickly correct her and have her point towards the Painter. "Sweetness!" She announced as Zuko once again folded his arms.

"Now...If everyone is now happy with their poses...? I'll start again..."

* * *

"Got to hand it to the old guy! He certainly knew what he was doing!" Sokka admitted as he absent-mindedly rubbed his nose. "Maybe it was all that amazing advice you gave him earlier?" Katara asked sarcastically as he nodded his head in agreement. "Maybe! Maybe!"

"Look, all I need to know is if I look bad-ass awesome!"

"For the fifth time, Toph, _yes_!" Zuko answered as he moved slightly forward to get a closer look at his portrait. "Aww! Don't we look like a happy couple!" Katara trilled as Aang hugged her tightly from behind. "That's because we are!" He stated simply as he rested his head gently on-top of hers.

"Now who is that handsome Devil on the far right? You know, the guy with the striking smile, manly haircut and, quite frankly, who has biceps the size of tree trunks?" Sokka placed his hands on both sides of his face in fake shock. "Oh my goodness! That's _me_!" Katara hopelessly rolled her eyes as Aang laughed loudly.

"Well..." Zuko took a step back and proudly smiled at the portrait before him. "I think it's fair to say that we make one formidable team!"

"And kick-ass! Don't forget kick-ass!" Toph piped in causing Zuko to chuckle.

"Yeah...one formidable _kick-ass_ team!"


End file.
